News Room

US health care: It’s officially a mess, institute says
- Health & Healing
- September 8, 2012
The Institute of Medicine released a report on Thursday on the state of the U.S. health care system and how it wasted $750 billion in 2009- about 30 percent of all health spending- on unnecessary services, excessive administrative costs, fraud, and other problems. As many as 75,000 people who died in 2005 would have lived if
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Detox Your Home, The Pretty Way
- Home & Family
- September 7, 2012
The average American home contains over 500 chemicals. Indoor air tends to be up to five times more polluted than outside air. Check out these ten ways to create a toxin-free, beautiful home – without the use of bulky air purifiers or filtration systems. EcoSalon, 9/5/2012
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Infants’ parents hand out gifts to fellow fliers ahead of twins’ first flight
- Making a Positive Difference
- September 7, 2012
The parents of infant twins handed out this note and goodie bag, along with ear plugs, to passengers on their San Francisco-Washington, DC flight as a preemptive apology for any crying or nuisance the babies might cause. "We're twin baby boys on our first flight… We’ll try to be on our best behavior, but we’d
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New study links ex-NFLers and brain disease
- Health & Healing
- September 7, 2012
As the NFL kicks off its 2012 season, an important medical study came out Wednesday on the dangers of pro football and what a career of collisions can do to the brain. Researchers found that NFL players are more likely to die from degenerative neurological diseases (like Alzheimer's and ALS) than the general population –
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Michaela DePrince: From War Orphan to Teen Ballerina
- Entertainment, Books & Humor
- August 31, 2012
Sierra Leonean ballet dancer Michaela DePrince lost both of her parents at age three. She was adopted by an American couple and became a ballet dancer in the United States. DePrince made her professional debut last month in South Africa, and now her goal is to change traditionally held views about black ballet dancers. CNN,
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Coldplay Grants Wish To Sick Teen
- Celebrity HealthStyles
- August 31, 2012
18-year-old Amber suffers from Crohn’s Disease, and said she wanted to meet the band because “…their music helped me get through a lot of questionable and hard times and inspired my artwork. When I listen to their albums my emotions, thoughts and worries escape, helping me keep a positive outlook on life." Look to the
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Chemicals Banned From Toys Lurk in School Supplies
- Home & Family
- August 31, 2012
"While phthalates have been banned in children's toys, similar safeguards don't yet exist to keep them out of lunchboxes, backpacks and other children's school supplies," Mike Schade of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice, which released the report Sunday, said in a statement. Phthalates have been linked to chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, and
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Fifth-Grader’s Petition Prompts Jamba Juice to Ditch Styrofoam
- Environmental Well-Being
- August 31, 2012
10-year-old Mia Hansen was visiting a Jamba Juice when she noticed the abundance of Styrofoam cups doled out with every drink order. She started a petition on Change.org saying "Styrofoam takes so long to break down into the Earth. In the ocean, several animals think that this product is food, so when they go to
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Managing Emotions in the Workplace: Do Positive and Negative Attitudes Drive Performance?
- Financial & Workplace Well-Being
- August 31, 2012
Employees' moods, emotions, and overall dispositions have an impact on job performance, decision making, creativity, turnover, teamwork, negotiations and leadership. Sigal Barsade, a Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania management professor who studies the influence of emotions on the workplace, explains, "Positive people cognitively process more efficiently and more appropriately. If you're in a
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The Power of a Grandmother’s Heart
- Making a Positive Difference
- August 31, 2012
Diane Latiker, 54, took it upon herself to start a nonprofit community in her Chicago South Side living room for kids living amidst rampant gang violence. The program, Kids Off The Block, has grown since 2003 to become a successful mentoring site and a safe haven for Chicago's youth, serving 300 children last year. Latiker,
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Changing Our Tune on Exercise
- Health & Healing
- August 31, 2012
Desperate to find ways to get people to exercise, psychologists and researchers believe they've found a new approach that will be more effective than the promise of future health benefits has been for most people. Jane Brody points to experts who now recommend marketing physical exercise like you would a consumer product: "portray physical activity
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Train Your Brain to Be Positive, and Feel Happier Every Day: It Only Sounds Corny
- Lifestyle & Relationships
- August 29, 2012
Research indicates people who adopt an attitude of "self compassion," especially during challenging times, are healthier. Whether one's difficulties are small or large, Duke University professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, Mark Leary, points to the importance of "treating yourself like a kind friend. When bad things happen to a friend, you wouldn't yell at him."
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Anesthesia in young kids may carry developmental risks
- Home & Family
- August 22, 2012
Recent studies have suggested that anesthetic drugs may increase the risk of developmental delay issues or learning disabilities (such as ADHD) later in life for children under the age of 3– but only in kids who have been exposed to the drugs multiple times. This new research sheds light on the mysterious effects of anesthesia, but it
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Far more could be done to stop the deadly bacteria C. diff
- Health & Healing
- August 22, 2012
Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, is a potentially fatal infection that ravages the intestines. The bacteria preys on people in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical facilities. A USA TODAY investigation showed that C. diff is far more prevalent than federal reports suggest. The bacteria is linked in hospital records to more than 30,000 deaths
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Delayed Development: 20-Somethings Blame the Brain
- Lifestyle & Relationships
- August 22, 2012
As it turns out, the brain, once thought to be fully grown after puberty, is still evolving into its adult shape well into a person's third decade. Biologists, psychologists and sociologists are increasingly seeing the years between 18 to 25 as a distinct phase of human development, worthy of much more study. Dr. Jeffrey J.
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